


Rush Week

by KastleInTheSky



Series: U Never Lie To Me [2]
Category: Daredevil (TV), The Defenders (Marvel TV), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Confirmed: Matt sucks in this AU, F/M, Fraternities & Sororities, Infidelity, Jessica breaks a table, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-07
Updated: 2017-12-02
Packaged: 2018-12-25 01:52:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12025596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KastleInTheSky/pseuds/KastleInTheSky
Summary: Trish asks Karen and Jessica to tag along in Rush Week events, and Jessica knows that means she'll come face to face with Elektra, who her ex Matt may have had an affair with. Karen is also unsure if she has a new admirer or not?





	1. Truth Hurts

They'd only been back on campus for a little over a week, and Trish had already begun to drag Karen and Jessica along for a commitment neither of them would ever be willing to make.

 

"Don't you remember the time your mom made us sign up for the goddamn Girl Scouts, and she had to  _drag me_  out of the car?" Jessica asked Trish smugly as the three approached a growing crowd of woman in the campus square.

  
"Of course I do," Trish replied smiling. "She spent weeks mourning that pearl necklace."

 

"Yeah, and so what makes you think a  _sorority_ would seem any different to me?" Jessica hissed.

 

Karen giggled to herself; she'd be lying if she said she wasn't looking forward to seeing what show Jessica would put on at this Welcome to Rush event. Karen never fancied herself a sorority type either, though she did have a thing for monograms. Trish put up a very fair argument, however.

 

"Jessica has no friends, and outside of us, you only have Foggy," Trish had pleaded to Karen. "Plus, I think it could really help you take your mind off of the whole Matt thing, You can't hide in the library forever, Karen, you know that. I think this could be really good for you."

 

Trish was in Communications for a reason.

 

Karen looked on at the almost endless sea of girls with their hair and makeup done flawlessly as they gathered around booths set up by every sorority on campus. She knew that Marci, her good friend Foggy's girlfriend, was on the board of one of these sororities. At least if nothing came out of this, as nothing probably would, she'd get to catch up a little with Marci.

 

Trish lead the way as she pulled Karen and Jessica towards a booth all the way to the left of the floor. 

 

"You know," Karen called up to her. "It's still not too late to just turn around and get a cup of coffee."

 

"Come on, Karen!" Trish pleaded with slight whimper. "I think you might really like it!"

 

"I don't know, Trish," Karen grumbled as the three girls were within a few feet of the booth. "I don't know if all these hair-bows-and-ugg-boot combos are really for me. Plus, the paper's picking up, who knows if I'll even have..."

 

These were all excuses cooked-up excuses, of course. The fact was, deep down inside her, Karen felt a twinge of excitement at the potential of this pledging... whatever this was, and the prospect of a few more close girlfriends may have been indeed what Karen needed to boost her spirits a little.

 

They'd made it finally the edge of the first booth when Karen noticed her, but with a Marci's personality, it wasn't a difficult thing to do. Marci was posted on the opposite end of the table, talking to another blonde girl who was speaking at least least two octaves higher than anyone else in the crowd. Marci smiled on, nodding and otherwise playing the role of actively-engaged sorority recruiter until she haphazardly averted her gaze away and met eyes with Karen.

 

Karen immediately perked up, a warm smile spreading across her face and she lifted a hand to wave. Marci's smile widened in response as she politely excused herself from her conversation and sauntered over to Karen, shimmying her shoulder enthusiastically.

 

"Well, well, well," Marci sang. Once she was close enough, Karen extended an arm to give Marcy a small, sideways hug.

"You didn't tell me you were into pledging this years!" Marci exclaimed.

 

Karen widened her smile in return, affectively hiding her uncertainty.

"Just trying things out," Karen responded jovially. "At least I know that I'll have a hook up," she followed with a wing.

"Of course, girl," said Marci coyly as she gave a Karen a playful hip-bump. 

 

Trish and Jessica approached the two girls as well; Trish seemed eager to engage Marci, and Jessica only followed because Trish had a firm grip on her wrist. Marci greeted them as well.

"Trish!" Marci smiled, offering Trish the same side hug she did Karen. "Excellent to see you here as well!"

"Likewise," Trish smiled. "I've been admiring the fundraising you guys have done for St. Jude's from a afar for a while now, thought it may be time to get in on some of the fun!"

 

Marci turned last to Jessica, who didn't look up from her phone, but rather raised a firm, flat palm in Marci's direction.

"Save it," Jessica grumbled. Marci did just that, turned again to Karen and Trish. 

"Well," she began, "Feel free to mingle with the rest of the girls! If it were up to me alone, you guy would be in like nobody's business, but," she shrugged her shoulders, "can't be the boss of everything, unfortunately."

 

Karen rolled her eyes at her friend, who in turn began to chuckle at her own joke. Trish first said her goodbyes to Marci and began to chit-chat with the other girls in letters behind the booth.

 

It wasn’t until Karen turned her head accidentally to the right a bit that she noticed a sight she realistically knew she would see, but hoped to God she could avoid. In a booth situated about five yards to the right of Marci’s sorority, already starting right back at Karen as soon as she looked over, was the cunning smile and intense eyes of Elektra. Karen knew Elektra was chapter president of her sorority, and even though it would have been highly unlikely, Karen  _really hoped_ this encounter wouldn’t happen.

 

And as Karen watched Trish approaching Elekra’s table, the inevitability hit her like a roaring train.

 

“Goddamn it…” Karen couldn’t help but grumble as she rubbed her hand across her forehead.

“Hey,” Jessica replied suddenly from behind Karen, placing her hand on Karen’s shoulder in a surprisingly warm gesture.

“Offer’s always on the table…” Jessica continued.

  
Karen sighed. “I know,” she affirmed. “Let’s just see how it goes first, but I’m anticipating I’ll need it.”

 

Jessica rubbed Karen’s shoulder roughly, a smile forming on her face.

“Best news I’ve heard all day. That’s the spirit!” Jessica smiled. Karen had to admit that in this instance only, Jessica penchant for a little bit of violence made her comfortable, and Karen found herself smiling as well.

 

The two women walked tentatively over to Elektra’s table, where Trish had been politely chatting with another member of the sorority. Karen found that as she walked, Elektra’s mocking gaze never left Karen, and Karen did her best to show Elektra she wasn’t intimidated by starting just as intently back.

 

“Well, well…” Elektra beckoned to Karen when she was within earshot. The sorority members around Elektra immediately stopped what they were doing to stop and stare at this encounter developing before them. Even the girl who’d been engaging with Trish stopped their conversation cold; even Trish herself stopped and turned towards Karen as she approached, her posture upright, firm, and ready for confrontation.

 

“If I were you I would certainly keep walking,” Elektra sneered, extending an open hand out to the plethora of other booths and women towards their right.

 

Karen froze for a minute, taken aback by the immediate confrontation, but the genuine rage and distaste, to put it lightly, for Elektra overpowered her quickly.

 

"You're right, I think I will," Karen growled back, "and I think everyone else here should too if they value their integrity."

 

Elektra cackled softly, all of her cohorts beside her growing more and more defensive.

 

"My integrity is just fine, thank you," Elektra smiked. "I think you'll find I've never been anything other than honest."

  
Karen sucked her tooth with disgust. "Yeah, that's right, you're honest. Like every other politician is honest."

 

"And from what I heard," Elektra began, folding her hands in front of her, before giving Karen a sneer Karen could only describe as evil.

"You're far to clueless to be a journalist. At least, that's what Matthew told me during your Intro final last semester. When he was 'studying' with Franklin. And I'd been in his bed the whole day."

 

The air around the group of women watching this encounter immediately shift dead still to unbridled frenzy in a split second. Trish had gasped loudly at first, Elektra's sorority sisters began to laugh and holler from behind her, but Karen could only hear every organ in her body falling densely into her stomach. It's not that she hadn't believed Frank Castle when he shed light on this the other day, not that at all. Coming directly from Elektra's own mouth sent such a feeling of anger and hurt through Karen that she couldn't speak. 

 

Luckily for her, Karen didn't have to speak, because before anyone knew it, Jessica swung her leg out quickly, and in an instant she sent her boot flying towards the closest leg of Elektra's table. The table never stood a chance; as soon as Jessica's foot hit it, the table leg was sent flying behind the sisters, send people running away from it's trajectory screaming. Every pamphlet and flier the sisters had on the table went flying, a good portion of it beginning to tumble away with the wind, and half of the tablet crashed onto the ground

 

"Tables broken, asshole," Jessica yelled to Elektra, grabbing tightly on to Karen's arm and pulling her away from the commotion.

 

"C'mon," Jessica mumbled to Karen. "Let's go."

 

Karen complied; she allowed Jessica to yank her away from the crowd of people while she became wrapped up in her own thoughts.

 

Karen had listened to Jessica grumble on about how stupid the event had been as they headed back in the direction of the dorm, and after her encounter with Elektra, Karen was inclined to agree. There was such a plethora of things that bothered her about Elektra, most obvious of which was the Matt thing, of course. However, the thing that had pissed Karen off so much today was how unapologetic Elektra was, how she could be so blithely unaware of how insensitive and awful she was, and how she had the audacity to rub the situation in Karen's face so cruelly.

 

About halfway home, Karen got distracted from her contemptuous thoughts by a growing hunger in her stomach and a slight aching in her head. It was eleven o'clock in the morning, and she still hadn't eaten breakfast and, even worse, hadn't had any coffee yet today.

 

"Hey," Karen called to Jessica as she slowed her gait and pulled away in the direction of the student union. "I gotta get something. You wanna head to the coffee shop with me for a little? I'll even treat for the table thing back there."

 

Jessica turned away and continued to walk backwards towards the dorms, however.

"Tempting," Jessica smiled. "But I'll sit this one out. Make sure you've got your keys, I may be passed out when you walk in."

 

"A little early for drinking, huh?" Karen smirked.

Jessica smirked back, pulling both hands out of her pockets with her middle fingers elevated. Karen laughed and she turned around and headed towards the union cafe.

 

“Hey,” she heard Jessica yell one last time from behind her. Turning around, Karen found Jessica hadn’t moved from the last spot she’d stopped on.

 

“You gonna be okay?” Jessica called out as she took a few paces forward, undoubtedly making sure she didn’t have to scream Karen’s business to the entire campus.

“That was… probably a lot of shit for you to handle, I guess…” Jessica mumbled. “You… y’know…”

 

Karen heaved a sigh. Of course she’d probably end up okay eventually, given she stayed the hell away from Matt and Elektra and kept her mind off the confirmation that there had been some kind of affair between the two of them during Karen and Matt’s relationship, not that she though Frank Castle would have lied about that.

 

Was she okay now? Who knew.

 

“It’ll be fine,” Karen replied, and she could feel her defeated smile giving her up. She took a few backwards steps back in the direction of the union before turning around, her head whirling with thoughts of Matt and Elektra the entire way there.

 

Walking through the door, Karen could see the line for the Columbia Café in the union was as crowded as ever, the line starting not too far from where Karen entered the building. Karen assumed her position on line, taking small, inching paces as the line moved forward.

  
If she were being honest, she really needed the time to think. Her head raced with interchangeable reactions to her encounter with Elektra and flashbacks from the dissolution of her relationship with Matt.

 

How could someone be so vile, Karen kept thinking with her eyes glued to her cell phone.

 

 _Are you okay?!_  Trish had texted her while Karen was on line.  _Where are you?? Do you want me to come meet you??_

_No, it’s okay, but thank you,_ Karen had replied, moving closer and closer to the cash register.  _Just grabbing coffee and I’ll be back to the dorm soon. You can meet me there._

 

 _Be there in 10,_ Trish answered.  _They can’t fix their table. LOL._

Karen couldn’t help but giggle at Trish’s last text. That was the least Elektra deserved, Karen thought.

 

Karen hadn’t realized she’d finally made it all the way to the register, until suddenly she heard a disconcertingly familiar voice call out to her from behind the counter.

 

“Uh… ma’am?” the deep, low voice rumbled. Karen’s head shot up from her phone, and she could feel her face flushing when she realized that right in front of her, hands planted firmly on the counter and ready to take her order, was Frank Castle.

 

Karen looked around quickly, and several small pockets of young women staring over at the counter, giggling and then turning away from them confirmed to Karen that no, she wasn’t seeing things, and yes, she was seeing Frank Castle for the second time in three days here working at the  _freaking coffee shop._

“Uh… hey…” Karen began, still very much thrown off.

Frank on the other hand appeared to be in a grand mood, a half-grin spreading up towards his left ear. Puffs of his thick, curly hair poked out from under a standard black cap, and the muscles on his arms were flexed tightly as he leaned over.

 

“What can I start for you, ma’am?” he asked again.

 

“You always say ma’am like that?” Karen found herself asking, Jessica’s voice ringing in the back of her head.

 

Frank lifted on hand to rub the back of his cap, briefly looking down to the floor as he answered.

 

“Not really, I s’pose,” he mumbled. “Guess it’s an ROTC thing. Sir and ma’am, sign of respect, really.”

 

Karen felt her face get a little warmer. She scrambled to divert herself, looking down at her phone again as she fumbled out her order.

 

“Uh, I’ll just have a medium dark roast, black please.”

 

Karen thumbed through her phone looking again at her texts to Trish, trying to find a social media app to check as she waited for Frank to tell her total. She waited, and then waited a little more.

 

What the hell is his problem, Karen thought as she looked back up to see what was slowing Frank down. Upon doing so, however, she found that nothing had been slowing Frank down. In fact, nothing had started Frank up in the first place, apparently.

 

Frank remained posted on the counter, smirking wildly at Karen, shaking his head slowly at her.

 

“No…?” Karen asked bewildered.

 

“Nope,” Frank affirmed.

“What do you mean, no?” Karen asked, cocking an eyebrow in confusion.

“I mean I don’t think that’s what you want,” Frank chuckled.

 

Karen grunted, frustrated, but somehow willing to play along with whatever little game Frank had in mind.

 

“Okay, what about an Americano?” she asked. Frank’s head still swung back and forth, his smirk growing.

“Are these all stale or something?” Karen asked confused.

 

“Oh no, ma’am, we make it all fresh,” Frank said. “D’unt mean they’re all good.”

 

Karen sighed heavily again. “Okay then, what do you recommend.”

 

Frank lifted a single finger in the air as he took a step back from Karen.

"Got just the thing!" he called back to her enthusiastically. "It'll be waiting for you at pick-up!'

 

"But what about..." Karen murmured, slowly lifting the debit card from her wallet.

"Don't worry about it, ma'am!" Frank yelled. Karen had nothing left to do but stagger away from the line and towards the pick-up counter at the side of the cafe. As she did, she looked around hesitantly to see the people in line behind her, and some of the groups of girl's who'd been ogling Frank earlier, were now shooting her little daggers.

 

Karen nervously made her way to pick-up. She could see Frank inside the cafe hurrying to whip something up for her, and Karen couldn't help but wonder  _why,_ above all else. Karen didn't  _know_  Frank, and Frank only barely knew Karen, apparently, except for the worst parts of her life. Was he doing this to be friendly? Out of  _sympathy_? Karen couldn't help but feel a little been patronized by that notion.

 

She must have been wrapped up in that thought a little too long, though, because before she knew it, Karen heard Frank calling out to her loudly from pick-up.

 

"Hey, Ma'am!" he called, waiving Karen over with one hand; he held a small hot coffee cup in the other. Karen approached him hurriedly as he extended the drink to her.

 

"Now  _this,"_  Frank enthusiastically began, " _this_ is real coffee."

Karen grabbed the cup away from Frank and was slightly surprised to feel that whatever was inside it only filled it about halfway.

"What is this?"

 

"In plain words, just two straight shots of espresso and whip cream. Best thing I make here, if I do say so myself."

Karen smirked. "Best thing _you_ make?"

Frank smiled right back. "Yes, ma'am. Ain't the manager here for nothin'."

 

Karen nodded sweetly and began to back away. Wow, Karen thought. The vague feeling of butterflies emerged from inside her gut. What the hell was that about?

 

"Well," Karen began, "Thanks, Frank, I appreciate it... but... um... how come?"

 

"Hey, ma'am, don't worry about it," he called out to her with a small wave. "You have a nice day, alright?"

"You can call me Karen, y'know," Karen answered.

 

"I know," Frank said with a smile.

 

Karen turned around and began to approach the Student Union exit, taking a small sip of the drink Frank had given her.  _Damn_ , was it strong. Karen found herself recoiling slightly after her swallowed, but couldn't ignore an immediate jolt of energy she felt. Guess Frank really did know his stuff.

 

It wasn't until she was well outside the building that the side of her cup caught her eye, a portion of the cup usually reserved for a name. Karen caught on to the thick streams of Sharpie marker that lined almost the whole back half of her drink. It wasn't a complete confirmation, but Karen blushed uncontrollably with an inkling to Frank's intentions.

 

  _Hope you enjoy it, ma'am. Come back soon :)_


	2. Love Notes (?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karen has a long-awaited meeting with Foggy while things get flirtier (?) and flirtier (?) with her new favorite barista.

Karen returned to her room that evening to the usual fair; the occasional, rowdy drunk girl tumbled down their all-girls hall (yes, even in the middle of the school week), Jessica threw popcorn at her miniature TV set at stupid answers on Family Feud, and Karen was slumped over her desk struggling over her Biology homework.

 

The only difference between tonight and any other night in the dorm was that Karen could not sever two thoughts from here head – why Elektra Natchios was such an asshole, and _why had Frank Castle been so goddamn nice to her today_?

 

It certainly shouldn’t have taken precedence over the former, but Karen couldn’t help but wrack her brain for any kind of motive. Karen _really_ hoped it wasn’t pity again. Karen didn’t want to feel like a charity case, the poor, blind ex-girlfriend of a complete douchebag who didn’t know she was being played for a fool. Maybe she deserves a free coffee? No, Karen thought, that really wasn’t acceptable.

 

Then, of course, came the memory of how… kind of nice it made Karen feel. It’s not like she’d necessarily been used to the star of the football team, the “big man on campus” if there ever was one, showing her a little special attention.

 

Karen tried to shake those thoughts from her head and focus back on her Biology, because Christ, was she bad at it. It barely worked, and Karen closed up her books, turned off her desk lamp, climbed into bed, and tried to fall asleep to the sounds of Jessica yelling at the TV, and to the thoughts of Frank’s soft-spoken smile.

 

He’d still been so prevalent in her mind as she woke up the next morning that before she could pack her bag for the day and eat a granola bar, she was out the door and heading to get more coffee. She hadn’t even been sure if he was working this morning, but she needed to go back, just for even a second of interaction.

 

Karen walked through the doors of the Columbia Café with her hair still damp from the shower. She must have dropped in at a time a lot of people had classes, because despite it still being early, the café was basically desolate. Low and behold, at the helm was Frank, his hands perched firmly on the bar counter, ready for action. Karen felt something in her chest flutter, anxious to begin.

 

Frank wasn’t alone however, Karen noted as she casually approached the bar. Frank was well into a quite jovial conversation with another tall, broad man she could only assume was Frank’s teammate, sophomore defensive powerhouse Luke Cage. Karen had shared an English class with Luke freshman year, and despite being a very prominent presence in _any_ room, she’d found him to be a seemingly sweet guy.

 

Karen came closer to the bar, and before she’d made it within fifteen feet of the register, she’d already caught Frank’s attention. Out of nowhere, Karen felt a bold rush of nerves surge through her, so fierce that she instantaneous found herself word-vomiting.

 

“Hi there!” Karen called eagerly as she quickened her pace, feeling a little bit of pressure to get to the bar quicker now that she’d been noticed.

 

Frank’s smile, which had already been widened from his conversation, somehow grew to twice its size when he noticed Karen approaching.

 

“Mornin’, ma’am!” Frank welcomed, waving one hand at her firmly. Luke turned around to look at her, smiling and saying hello politely, and Karen could’ve sworn that once he looked away, Luke shot Frank some sort of “look”.

 

Karen subtley tried to ignore it and pretend she wouldn’t begin over-analyzing it as soon as she walked away. Luke stepped away from the counter and let Karen take her place in line.

 

“I’ll see you around, man,” Luke said as he paced backwards away from them. He looked at Karen again and gave her a small smile goodbye, which she returned. Then, he again looked towards Frank and _winked_ before looking one last time at Karen and turning away completely.

 

 _Winked_ , Karen thought. She channeled her frenzied nerves into a clever response.

 

“You guys make a cute couple,” she giggled.

Frank laughed back at her, running his hand over his work cap embarrassed.

“He’s a good man, that guy,” Frank smiled. “But I’m sure you didn’t turn up here for that, what can I get for ya’, ma’am?”

“Well, what do you suggest today?” Karen asked coyly.

 

Frank retreated back into the café, throwing some equipment around as he began to hell over to her.

 

“Well, what did ya’ think of the last one?” he called. “Was it too much for ya’?”

 

“It wasn’t too much for me, no, “ Karen yelled back. “May have been too much for my roommate who wasn’t very happy I stayed up ‘til 2AM cleaning the room, though.”

 

Karen could hear Frank’s bellowing chuckle even over the clanging of aluminum and running water, and couldn’t help but join in with him warmly.

“Maybe we can put some training wheels on it this time,” Karen joked.

 

“I hear that,” Frank called. “You like flavors?”

“Is no an option?” giggled Karen. “I trust your judgment.”

Frank scrambled around as Karen staggered towards the pick-up window.

“Is it always this dead at this time?” Karen asked, looking around again and noting that still, not a soul had walked in after her.

“Yeah,” Frank yelled over his noise. “I usually use this time to read or somethin’, but I don’t mind doing my job either.”

“Are you gonna actually let me pay you this time?” Karen asked slyly.

 

Frank approached the pick-up window, his eyes fixed directly on Karen’s, another hot cup of something held firmly in his hand. He smiled sweetly, and Karen felt another hot flush of nerves fill her face.

 

“What’d I tell you?” he asked in a low voice, almost a grumbled whisper even though there was no one around to hear.

 

Frank handed Karen the drink, his eyes still locked on her.

“Don’t worry about it,” he answered for her. “You just enjoy the rest of your day, alright, ma’am?”

 

Karen snapped out of the trance Frank’s warm grin had put him in as she felt the hot cup in her palm. Free coffee and Frank Castle – she wasn’t sure which one was becoming the better perk.

 

“Don’t worry about it,” Karen repeated, again backing away to exit the café area. She offered Frank a small wave with her open hand, which Frank returned as she turned to exit the building.

 

She blushed at the note, _You can pay me with another visit_ _,_ that Frank had scribbled on the side of her cup too quickly for her to notice.

She thought about it all through her Intro to Biology lecture, slowly sipping the creamy, caramel mixture Frank had made her so she could read the note he’d left longer. She thought about it all throughout the brainstorming session she had with other writers from the campus paper in the library, at this point toting around only an empty cup. She thought out it in detail, the smile Frank had, his eye contact, his everything, right up until the moment she realized her phone was vibrating wildly in her back pocket.

 

It was Jessica. Jessica had called her three times in a row, which usually wouldn’t happen unless she locked herself out of the room on her way back from the shower. Karen managed to catch the call almost on the last ring.

 

“Hope you brought a robe this time,” Karen said immediately upon answering.

“Ha,” Jessica huffed sarcastically. “You should be so lucky to see me in a towel again.”

“I’ve seen you in a lot less,” Karen grumbled sarcastically, “And if this is where this conversation is going then GOODBYE.”

 

“Wait!” Jessica insisted. “I need something. Actually before you try to hang up again, Trish needs something. I know she’s the favorite.”

“What’s up?” Karen asked. “And why do I get the feeling that if that were really the case, then Trish would be calling me?”

 

“Because Trish needs a ride to a stupid sorority rush event tonight, and I volunteered you because you’ve promised to take me grocery shopping for two weeks and it’s time to pay the piper, Page.”

 

Ugh, Karen groaned internally. She did promise. She didn’t forget, but she hoped Jessica had.

  
“Fine,” she agreed. “But mostly for Trish.”

 

“Love you too,” Jessica jested. “Meet me at Trish’s in an hour, okay?”

 

So that’s what she did. Karen managed to get in a solid forty-five minutes of real focusing on her routine without Frank creeping in too much, and she headed over to Trish’s dorm. When Trish flung open the door, Karen couldn’t help but stifle a little bit of laughter.

 

“You, uh…” Karen giggled. “You didn’t tell me you had a J. Crew shoot today.”

 

Trish could’ve fooled anyone in the getup she had on, though. She wore a v-neck mini-sweater-dress, riding boots, and the outfit was completed with a long khaki coat and cream-colored knit scarf.

 

“They gave us _three_ , _MANDATORY_ outfit selections,” Trish complained as she grabbed her bag and Jessica rolled of her lofted bed to join them.

“It’s like food options at a wedding…”

 

Even Jessica laughed at Trish’s joke as the three women walked off to Karen’s car. Karen was always happy to do a favor for Trish, but she’d be lying if she wasn’t… maybe worried was the word, about running into Elektra. She was almost over the encounter, _almost._ It’d be a lot more helpful if Karen didn’t have to see Elektra’s smug face parading around her sorority house before that happened.

 

“By the way… whose event are you going to again?” Karen asked, just to be sure.

 

“Marci’s sorority,” Trish answered from the backseat, sliding one hand onto Karen’s shoulder from behind her, offering a warm bit of empathy. “Don’t worry,” she added.

 

Karen, thankful for Trish’s thoughtfulness, smiled as she flicked her turn signal to head into “The Village”, the row of sorority and fraternity houses just off campus. Karen could tell by the multitude of girls wearing either an outfit similar to Trish’s, or one of the two other outfits on tonight’s menu, that she’d be approaching the house on the left.

 

Karen slowed down right in front of the house, and Trish hopped out and headed towards the crowd.

“Wish me luck,” she sighed, before turning to Karen, “And thank you,” she added.

“Hopefully they have name tags at this gig,” Jessica scoffed from the passenger’s side.

“Now let’s hit it, I haven’t had any cheeseballs in the room for weeks.”

 

Karen was ready put the car back in drive and head out before a familiar voice called out to her from beside the never-ending sea of sorority girls.

 

“Karen! Hey, Karen!” shouted Foggy, bounding over to her car from the crowd.

“Oh boy, here we go,” Jessica groaned, to which Karen promptly slapped Jessica’ shoulder quickly.

“Don’t be rude,” she scolded.

 

Foggy was slightly sweaty by time he reached Karen’s window. He stuck one arm, his shoulder, and head through to give Karen as much of a hug as he could.

“How are you?” Foggy asked excitedly as Karen pulled away. “It’s been…”

“A while, I know,” Karen finished, and that was the truth. Foggy and Karen had _definitely_ still been friends since she and Matt spilt, it’d just gotten a little difficult for the two of them to meet up, seeing as Matt and Foggy were inseparable. Honestly, Karen was surprised Matt hadn’t tried to turn Foggy against Karen, or hell, maybe he had and Foggy blew him off. Foggy was that kind of friend.

 

“I’ve been okay, first mid-terms coming up, you know how that is,” Karen answered.

“Boy, do I,” Foggy laughed. “If I hear the word ‘litigate’ one more time this semester…”

 

Foggy noticed Jessica sitting on the other side of the car and gave her a polite, yet scared wave.

 

“H-hey, Jess,” he muttered. Jessica, without looking at him, flipped Foggy the bird.

“Good, great, thanks,” Foggy sputtered. Karen quieted a laugh. Long before he was with Marci, Foggy had gotten drunk and tried to put a move on Jessica. Karen was pretty sure the ring finger on Foggy’s right had still had a pretty big kink in it.

 

“But, uh, yeah, Karen, it’s really good to see you, “ he said sincerely. “We really need to catch up some time.”

“Absolutely, Karen agreed. “I’m pretty free this week, it’ll be the last week before I really have to start studying for midterms.”

 

“Sounds awesome,” Foggy said, “We, uh, we should meet up at that coffee place in the Student Union! They make a great macchiato.”

 

Karen eye’s lit up. Granted, she would’ve been excited to hang out with Foggy regardless, but…

“Sounds great!” she agreed, before a sharp hand from Jessica slapped down on the dashboard next to Karen’s steering wheel.

“CHEESEBALLS!” Jessica yelled to Karen, completely out of patience.

“Okay, okay!” Karen yelled back, and she turned the key in the ignition. Foggy knowingly stepped back from the car and waved them off.

“I’ll text you!” Foggy shouted. Karen waved with one hand and she pulled off.

 

When the day finally came to meet with Foggy at Frank’s shop, Karen primped herself to the nines, or at least as nicely as one could while still trying to look “casual”. She ironed out her pink cotton sweater with her hands in from of the mirror, fidgeted with the pearls she’d laced around her neck.

 

If Foggy hadn’t asked her for coffee, she might have found a reason to ask him instead, just for another chance to pick Frank’s brain for only another minute.

 

Today was a little different than most. She knew Foggy had a lot to ask her about Matt and their situation, and she wasn’t looking forward to how gloomy that might make her feel. Foggy knew his boundaries, but still…

 

Once Karen had redone the small bun in her hair for the fifth time, she bounded out of her dorm room towards the Student Union, all the while rehearsing clever bits and quips to give Frank, quite frankly looking forward to seeing what little doodle he’d have for her today.

 

Foggy held the door open for Karen as Karen eagerly entered the café area, looking around feverishly for any sign of Frank. She thought she caught a glimpse of him in the back, talking to another employee, handling something, but she was too far away to be sure and the line was packed with kids waiting for a fix before a day of studying. Karen could vaguely here Foggy chattering away behind her.

 

“I’m happy you agreed to meet me,” he said, “Really. I know I’ve been kind of a crappy friend since… y’know. I still want you to know that I’m here for you.”

 

Karen appreciated the sentiment, really. She knew Foggy was in a hard place, and it did mean a lot to her that he actively tried to hold their friendship together. The two got on line, and again Karen began her scan for Frank. The person who she’d thought had been him didn’t turn out to be, and she peered over the counter, trying to catch any glimpse of him.

 

“I, uh, heard about that thing that happened at the rush event, “ Foggy continued.

“Oh, about Jess kicking the table in?” Karen asked.

“Yeah,” Foggy confirmed with a laugh. “Marci said they were _pissed_. She’s psychotic, but that one was pretty funny, I’ll tell ya.”

“Guess that just means more pledges for Marci, huh?” Karen smiled.

 

Foggy laughed in agreement. The inched closer and closer to the front of the line, and still Karen saw no sign of Frank. I mean, she couldn’t expect the guy to working here every morning, but… yeah, she kind of did.

 

“You, uh…” Foggy mumbled, “you lookin’ for something?”

Karen snapped out of it a little, trying to keep her cool. “No, no, nothing,” she answered.

Foggy chuckled. “Okay,” he replied, and they took a few steps more.

“So how have you been?” Foggy asked. “Y’know…”

“Alright, considering,” Karen answered honestly.

“Considering what?’

“Considering I just found out Matt had been cheating on me for at least part of our relationship.”

 

“Wait…” Foggy gasped as he grabbed Karen’s forearm, effectively turning her towards him.

“ _What?!”_

Karen looked at him incredulously.

“You seriously didn’t know?” she asked. It’s not that she thought Foggy would purposely keep things from her, but they were _roommates._

 

“Karen...”

Foggy’s voice sounded borderline offended as he pulled her in a little closer, a stoic look of sincerity on his face.

“I’m not a lawyer _yet,_ which means I’m not a complete piece of shit, _yet._ If I had know, I would’ve told you, and I think you know that.”

  
Foggy was right. He may have had to play both sides, but Foggy had good character; when he saw something that wasn’t right, he said something. He was going to make a pretty good lawyer one day for sure.

  
“Yeah, I know,” Karen admitted. They took a few more steps towards the counter, and Karen could tell by this point that Frank was most definitely not there this morning. She felt the form in her shoulder slump a little. Tomorrow was another day I guess.

 

“Well,” Foggy began up again. “If it makes you feel any better, Matt’s turned into a pretty much a complete asshole. He’s barely ever in the room, and when he is, _she’s_ there too…” Foggy grimaced. “Yeah, I’m pretty happy Jessica kicked the table.”

 

Karen smiled, only a few people away from the counter now.

“Well, what about you?” Foggy asked.

“What about me?” Karen inquired.

“Y’know, is there, somebody?”

Karen laughed nervously. “Somebody like who?”

“C’mon, Karen,” Foggy scoffed. “Are you seeing somebody?”

 

Karen was up in line, taking time to answer Foggy’s question quickly before she ordered.

“I am definitely not seeing anybody.”

 

She didn’t recognize the person working, at all, but apparently as Karen opened her mouth to order, the worker recognized her.

“Are you Karen?” asked the small girl with freckles and glasses larger than her face. “Are you friends with Frank Castle?”

It caught Karen completely off guard, and she could see Foggy in her peripheral shoot his gaze over at her.

“Uh…” Karen began nervously. “Why?”

 

The girl rolled her eyes at Karen.

“Are you friends with him or not? ‘Cause he told us to give something to Karen, long blonde hair, blue eyes, black purse.”

Karen remained speechless. _Frank Castle left something here for her?_

“Look, you’re like the twentieth person who’s looked like that I’ve asked that to today, are you her or not?”

 

“Uh, yeah,” Karen tried to say, maybe it came out a little garbled. “Yeah, I’m Karen.”

The girl, still looking a little annoyed, sighed with what Karen interpreted as relief.

“Awesome,” the girl said. “Wait here.”

 

As the girl scurried off into the back of the coffee shop, Foggy’s hand found that familiar spot on Karen’s arm and gripped her excitedly.

  
“ _Karen,”_ he hissed. “Since when are you friends with _Frank Castle?! ‘The Punisher’ Frank Castle?!”_ Foggy dropped Karen’s arm and lifted his hands in the air triumphantly, like _he_ was the one who got pseudo-love-notes from frickin’ Frank Castle every time he went the coffee shop.

 

“Karen, I’ve always liked you, but right now you’re definitely the coolest person I know,” he giggled.

 

Before long the girl came back with a tall hot coffee cup, which she looked to be holding a little oddly on her end.

“Here,” she said as she thrust the coffee cup in Karen’s directly. “He already paid for it too.”

 

Karen grabbed the cup, and she could then see why the girl had a hard time holding it from the back. Taped to one side of the cup was the small blossom of a white rose, next another hand written note.

 

_Hope you enjoy this one, ma’am. Sorry I missed you! Hope you’re havin’ a great day!_

Before she even had time to blush, she felt Foggy looking over at the cup from behind her.

“ _’Sorry I missed you’?”_ Foggy asked. “I thought you just said you _weren’t_ seeing anyone.”

 

Crap, Karen thought. She definitely wasn’t seeing anymore, but in that moment holding her cup and her rose, she realized she really wanted to see someone in particular.


	3. Miscommunications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karen's flirtationship with Frank is jeopardize with an unlucky encounter with Matt.

Karen began to see the effects of all the caffeine showing through her fatigued skin, but that still didn’t stop her from visiting the café most mornings before class. Like clockwork, Frank was there too, their conversations usually hurried a little by the crowds amassing behind her. Even that little amount of time was totally worth it.

 

Yeah, okay, Karen had a crush on Frank Castle. She _liked_ Frank Castle. She didn’t really know a whole lot about him, nor he of her, but that didn’t change the fact that Karen really appreciated how Frank went out of his way to make her smile, and that was something she could really use after these past few months.

 

That, and _man_ was he handsome, and he’d made it pretty clear to her he thought something of her to. Karen would have been crazy not to fall a little for this guy.

 

It was the third week of school. Karen had made a point to have dinner at the dining hall with Foggy once, during the course of which he practically inundated her with questions about how she knew “The Punisher”, but Karen kept her cards close to her chest. Didn’t want to jinx it, of course.

 

Trish was only a few more days and events away from fully pledging to Marci’s sorority. She was pursued by Elektra’s sorority as well, but Trish turned them down. From what Trish said, that left a pretty salty taste in Elektra’s mouth.

 

Karen was over being _sad_ about her revelation about Matt and Elektra at this point. She would always think the two of them _sucked_ , but it was what it was. Matt hurt her, and Elektra twisted the knife. There was no use in dwelling on it and letting them affect her when there was so much more going on in Karen’s life that was making her happy. Trish was happy, Jess was whatever her version of happy was, she was talking to Foggy a lot, she wasn’t failing Biology (yet), and who knows, maybe something was going on with her and Frank Castle.

 

The morning began like any other. Karen tried to dress herself well; it was getting colder outside, so she’d headed over to the coffee shop this morning in an oversized flannel, jeans, and some ankle boots.

 

She didn’t want to say she’d memorized Frank’s schedule, but yeah, she had. She knew he’d be there that morning, and so of course as soon as she was ready, she headed out for a fix.

 

It was the usual fair; there were about ten other people in line when Karen arrived, so she situated herself behind them hoping to catch Frank’s eye. It was gearing up to be just another morning at the coffee shop.

 

Until, of course, it couldn’t be.

 

When Karen felt that tap of a cane on her right shoe, she tried very, very desperately to pretend she didn’t know it was him. Her arms went rigid against her sides, her lips taut against her teeth to keep herself from screaming.

“Sorry,” Matt exclaimed immediately after he hit her. “I’m so sorry!”

 

Karen saw Matt lift his cane into the air and knew exactly what was coming next. She hated this joke, but Matt insisted on it every time he bumped into someone or something. She didn’t know if he either didn’t know or didn’t care that it made people kind of uncomfortable.

 

He opened his mouth, and Karen couldn’t resist the urge to facetiously groan along with him.

 

“Didn’t see you there!” the two said in unison.

 

“Karen?!” Matt asked in an excitedly once they finished. Karen called bullshit on that though. Matt always had a suspiciously good way of knowing when Karen was in this room, and for that matter, he also had a very good way of knowing when any _other_ pretty girl was in the room. That was part of the reason they weren’t together after all.

 

Karen sighed. “Yup,” she groaned again, still not making the effort to turn around to face him, engage him in conversation, anything. That didn’t stop him, however.

 

“Hey there, Karen! How are you doing? It’s good to _see_ you!” he exclaimed.

 

Ugh, Karen thought. Another one.

 

Karen stalled for a moment, mulling over her options. She could absolutely lose her shit on Matt and call him out in front of all these people for being a no-good, two-timing bastard, which of course was her favorite options. However, she thought as she looked over at the cashier’s counter of the café, she wouldn’t want to make some big scene in front of Frank.

 

She could also swallow her pride and try to feign a little pleasant small talk just to save face, but she didn’t want to give Matt the impression that she’d forgiven him, decided to bury the hatchet, what have you.

 

The ideas went back and forth in her head for a millisecond, until he swallowed hard, took a deep breath in and answered.

  
“I’m fine, how are you?”

 

Matt sighed himself, probably with relief that Karen hadn’t chose to rip his face off in public.

“I’m doing good, thank you,” he smiled, and to Karen it almost looked sincere.

“Just, midterms and the such, y’know…”

 

If Karen had it her way, the conversation would have ended right there. Karen dropped her shoulders, ready to resume her roll and just another person in the coffee line and walk away from this encounter, but Matt continued.

 

“I, uh…”, he added, “I mean, Foggy told me you two had lunch the other day.”

“Yup,” Karen replied curtly.

“That’s uh… that’s nice, I’m glad you two can still be friends through all…”

 

Karen could have, in reality or alternate universe, just about turned around and smacked him for thinking she gave a shit about his opinions about her and Foggy’s friendship. He _never_ had that right, even before he left her.

 

She still _just_ couldn’t get there, however. As she looked towards the cashier’s counter, and as she got closer and closer, she saw that Frank had finally noticed her. Unfortunately, he’d seemed to notice Matt as well. Frank’s eyes darted quickly between her and Matt, his jaw growing tense. Karen could see he was trying to analyze what the hell was going on here just as much as she was.

 

Karen finally turned to look at Matt, as frustrated with him as she could possibly be.

“What the hell do you want, Matt?” she spat quietly. “When are you going to get the hint and _leave me the hell alone_?”

  
“Karen, please,” Matt cooed, extending both his mercifully towards Karen.

“I… I… just… Look, Foggy mentioned you were might be seeing someone else, and…”

 

“Oh, THAT’S what this is about, huh?” Karen hissed. “You wanna stick your nose into my dating life? Well trust me, Matt, my dating life has certainly had my fill of you.”

 

Matt sighed heavily. “I deserve that, I know I do…”

“That’s the first step, I guess,” Karen quipped sarcastically.

“But I… I want you to know that I’m happy for you if you are. Really, I am.”

 

“Well, if you were really considered about how happy I was,” Karen began, and she quickly turned her gaze to hit Matt right in the eye, right behind his glasses, “then you would stay out of my business.”

  
Still wasn’t cold enough though, and Matt still did not relent.

“Karen, I’m not gonna deny that I was a real piece of shit to you. I’m really trying to make it up to you here, I’m sorry…”

 

Karen’s threshold for Matt’s bullshit had reached its limit finally, and Karen turned around once again to lay into him.

“You need to understand that not everyone has an impeccable _rebound_ reflex that you have, Matt. Yeah, you really fucked me over, and yes, I’ve been torn up about it for a long time. The majority of this semester I’ve thought about either kicking you in the nuts or setting all your shit on fire. Believe me, I still have those feelings for you…”

 

Karen realized too late that the next two steps she took lead her directly in front of Frank, and as she looked up at him, his eyes looked absolutely mad, wildly burning through her with the widest range of negative emotions it felt like a human could muster. By the looks of it, Karen assumed that some things she’d said, maybe especially the last part, Frank had heard.

 

And Karen froze.

 

Shit.

 

Frank with his angry eyes didn’t miss a beat.

“What can I start for you?” he roared, his tone aggressive, and then louder than usual to overcompensate.

“Uh…” Karen fumbled. Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT, she thought. Why did Matt have to be here to make her screw things up? This was supposed to be just another, _awesome_ few minutes at the coffee shop for her.

“Hi,” she finally said.

 

Frank’s bounced his eyebrows at her while jutting his chin in towards his throat.

“What, do you, uh, you want a just a plain ol’ dark roast? Same boring shit you usually drink, huh?”

“Hey man, what is your problem?” Matt interjected from behind Karen, but both Frank and Karen whipped around to shout at him.

“Stay out of it!” they yelled together.

 

Karen turned back to Frank tentatively, at a complete loss. She could feel her heart sinking down into her stomach. She knew she hadn’t done anything wrong and this was all a misunderstanding, but she couldn’t stand the thought that she accidentally must have made Frank feel shitty.

 

On the bright side, this was a definitely sign that he had the same feelings for Karen that she had for him. Karen really wasn’t thinking about the bright side at all now though.

 

“Yeah,” Karen mumbled through all her racing thoughts, “yeah, that’s fine.”

  
Frank nodded his headed, knowingly.

“Alright then, that’s cool,” he sneered. “That’s real cool.”

 

Frank turned back into the prepping area while Karen listlessly approached the pick-up counter. At first, she can hear Matt start up behind her.

“Wait, aren’t you going to…?” he asked, before Karen supposed he dropped that idea and came bounding back up to her again.

 

“Karen, what the hell was that?” he asked as he reached out a hand to grab her shoulder. When he touched her, Karen whipped around and shoved Matt’s arm away from her.

 

“ _Leave. Me. ALONE!”_ she yelled, taking it all out on him. Deservedly so.

“Karen…” Matt began. He folded his arms sternly, like he was gearing up for one of his famous moral diatribes.

“ _That’s_ not the guy you’re talking to, is it?” he scoffed. “That… that _Frank Castle_ guy from the football team?”

 

“ORDER UP,” Frank yelled from the pick-up window, slamming Karen’s cup down loudly. Karen scurried over to pick it up, hoping to catch Frank and offer some kind of explanation, but as she approached, Frank retreated into the back, into some kind of staff room behind a large metal door.

 

Karen’s shoulders feel with unbearable disappointment. _Shit_ , she repeated again to herself. _How did this happen_?

 

She grabbed the cup Frank had left her, turning it one way and then the other, looking for any extra adornments Frank would have added, but sadly, he’d left nothing.

 

Karen felt stupid for it, especially seeing that her and Frank weren’t actually an item, and a little note on a coffee cup wasn’t exactly a declaration of love, but she still found herself get a little choked up, convinced she’d just ruined her chance, and all on account of...

 

_Matt._

 

Karen turned back to face Matt, who was still grimacing at the thought that she’d been talking to Frank Castle. Karen obviously couldn’t see herself, but she’d hoped the smoke coming out of her ears wasn’t too obvious. She decidedly stormed towards him while he blathered on.

 

“C’mon, Karen, I think you can do a lot better than some stupid football player…”

 

_CRACK._

The palm of Karen’s right hand stung furiously before she could even process what happened. Matt’s face had swung to the side, a large red welt beginning to form on his cheeks. Some people still in line gasped; some kids passing by the coffee shop outside rubber-necked by the doorway.

 

 _Damn it_ , did that feel good.

 

“Matt…” Karen finally whispered after a few moments of Matt cursing, rubbing his face, and asking Karen what the hell was wrong with her.

“How _dare_ you,” she added. “Do not _ever, EVER,_ stick your nose in my personal life, my _any kind_ of life, ever again. We are no longer together, we are no longer _friends_. We are _nothing_. I want _nothing_ to do with you, and I want you to _leave me the hell alone_.”

 

Karen began to walk away, only making it a few paces before she turned around for a final note.

“And don’t _ever_ talk about Frank like that again. He is a good person, a good guy, and he _certainly_ doesn’t deserve any shit from a creep like you.”

 

Karen left after that, a few people hooting and clapping at her as she walked away. If Karen’s mind wasn’t been racing with thoughts of how hurt Frank looked, and how annoyed she was at Matt, she would have felt kind of cool. Instead, she held back tears of frustration as dashed back to the dorms.

 

“That _asshole_ ,” Trish hissed as she paced back and forth in her room.

 

Karen headed straight to Trish’s knowing she desperately needed to tell someone, to get this all off her chest.

“You were right to slap him. I mean, who does he think he _is_ , and why does he think he has the right to judge _your_ choices when he’s clearly gotten himself into his own mess of shit?!”

 

“It’s just…” Karen sobbed. She did feel _really_ dumb for crying, like she was somehow overreacting, but she couldn’t stop.

 

“I thought I was doing so well with the whole situation, and somehow he still finds a way to hit me where it hurts, _and he didn’t even know he was doing it!”_

 

“Ugh,” Trish groaned. She walked over to Karen’s side as she sat on Trish’s bed, hands cradling her own face. Trish rubbed Karen’s shoulders sweetly, trying to be as sympathetic as she could, Karen knew.

 

Still, Karen didn’t feel much better. Flashes of Frank’s face, the way he’d said “ _That’s cool”,_ how hurt he looked. What the hell was she doing? She wasn’t even with the guy!

 

“You really like him, don’t you?” Trish asked knowingly.

Karen didn’t answer with words; she sniffed deeply, wiping a lone tear off her face, and nodded. Trish pulled Karen into a tight hug.

“It’s okay,” Trish cooed. “It’ll be okay. You’ll go back and explain everything. He seems like a really sweet guy. I’m sure he’ll understand.”

 

Trish was right. Karen wasn’t sure how Frank would react, but she knew the most sensible thing to do was to give it a couple days and then go explain the situation. She knew she didn’t have to apologize, because she didn’t do anything wrong, but he cared about Frank and his feelings.

 

So that’s exactly what she did. Three days later, she knew Frank would be working the morning shift again like usual. She didn’t bother to get dolled up this time. She took out what otherwise would’ve been her normal yoga pants, a cute t-shirt, and a canvas jacket, and headed over to the café.

 

She knew the place wouldn’t be crowded; she wanted to have as much time as she needed to talk to Frank. She still wasn’t sure what exactly she’d say; she wanted to be as transparent as possible, but still didn’t want to put all her cards on the table.

 

When she arrived at the Union, to her lucky, all seemed quiet. There was one person waiting for their drink at the pick-up window and no one on line. Karen heard Frank’s voice as he gave the person waiting their drink, and she felt her heart skip a beat. Time for the moment of truth, she thought.

 

Karen found herself stopping before she was in full view of the cashier counter, and she took a deep breath, preparing herself and trying to calm her nerves. Of course she thought about what would happen if Frank didn’t want to talk, but she didn’t think she was necessarily ready for it.

 

She started up again, walking directly up to the counter. She could feel her hands trembling slightly in her pockets as she stopped in front of the register. Frank had been tinkering with something under the counters when she walked up and hadn’t noticed her yet.

 

Karen cleared her throat, ready as she’d ever be.

 

“Hi,” she called out to him.

 

Frank’s head shot up from underneath the counter. Karen could tell that it came from an initial feeling of excitement, or at least eagerness to serve, but when he saw it was Karen, she saw his face fall. Damn, did that hurt.

 

“Hey,” he called back, putting down sleeves of empty cups he’d been handling and slowly approaching the counter. Karen assumed this was a good sign.

“How are you?” she asked, smiling softly but sincerely.

“Fine,” Frank grumbled, not returning the smile. “What can I get ya’?”

 

“I, um…” Karen began. Here goes nothing. “I, uh, actually wanted to, uh… talk to you about the other day. About… y’know.”

 

Frank leaned back on a back counter adjacent to the register and folded his arms in front of him.

“Not my business, I don’t think,” he mumbled.  
“I… I just wanted you to know that it wasn’t what it sounded like,” Karen admitted.

  
“Look, if that’s what you wanna do with your life, that’s what you wanna waste your time on, that’s on you. I told you what I saw, and if you wanna ignore that, that’s on you,” Frank barked. He looked like he was trying as hard as he could to look everywhere else in the room but directly at Karen.

 

“That’s what I’m saying,” Karen argued. “It wasn’t like that. That isn’t what I _want.”_

“And why do you need tell me this?” Frank asked.

 

Karen knew why, but she didn’t know if she was ready to say why. What if she was wrong? How could she be wrong, though, when Frank had such an obvious reaction to seeing her with Matt? What if she misread his intentions, and he was being a good Samaritan all along, just trying to make a girl down on her luck feel better about herself? Karen winced.

 

Frank broke the silence.

“Look, ma’am, I think we’re done here, just let me know what you want.”

 

Karen felt the water-works coming on again. She’d really blown it. No, _Matt_ , really blew it. The waves of frustration come flooding back and she tried to choke out an order .

 

“Macchiato and a corn muffin please,” she spat.

Karen dug in her purse to pay for her things.

“Hey,” Frank called, watching her. “I got it.”

  
Karen took that as an excuse to get the hell out of there and stand next to pick-up. Tears still welled in her eyes and she thought about, what if she just told Frank how she felt? What would be so bad about that? She knew if she just explained that to him, this could probably all go away. So why couldn’t she just say it?

 

Out of nowhere it seemed, the outer doors to the café flew open, and in poured ten to twelve perky looking girls, all looking almost identical. They all had long, flowing hair, wore puffer vests and riding boots, and they all were chatting and giggling to each other as they approached. It may have just been her state, but Karen could’ve sworn they were all looking at Frank.

 

Frank was the only person working in the café that day; Karen knew this shift was always dead, so she assumed he worked alone simply because they didn’t need more people.

 

Frank called out to the girls as they reached the register.

“Be right with

you ladies,” he yelled over the sound of the machinery.

“No problem, I could look at this view all day!” called back one of the girls, who didn’t look to be any older than a freshman.

 

Karen furrowed her eyebrows, trying to register what she’d just heard.

_What?_

 

Frank seemed to have heard the same thing, as he nervously chuckled at the girl. He threw the lid on top of Karen’s macchiato and threw her corn muffin into a paper bag, shouting, “order up”, and walking away once he’d left it on the counter.

 

Karen hesitantly approached her things, picking the coffee cup up and noticing again there was no writing on it. She huffed, and attempted to take her stuff back to a table, when she heard Frank’s next interaction with the girls.

 

“What can I start for ya’?” he asked as usual.

The same girl replied, “Honestly, just your number.”

 

Karen found herself halting in place, caught someplace between surprise at this girl’s audacity, and some jealously. She listened at Frank tried to play off the comment, but the girl only continued relentlessly hitting on Frank.

  
Karen turned around, finding she couldn’t help but want to watch what was going on. The girl, and however many girls stood behind her, all stood and giggled, their eyes boring into Frank, and their leader continued to make her move.

 

“That would be how it’s _supposed_ to be done,” said a bone-chilling voice from behind Karen. Karen didn’t have to turn around to know who it was, because as the voice spoke Karen noticed another thing all these girls had in common – a tiny pin that adorned the right side of their vests, branding the letters of the same sorority.

 

“Lucky for me I get to watch you fall apart in front of me instead,” Elektra sneered as she walked around so Karen could see her.

 

“What the hell do you want?” Karen asked flatly.

Elektra grinned devilishly, and she swept her arm out widely, as if to present the scene in front of her.

  
“To present to you the latest pledge class,” she admitted. “They’ve done a wonderful job this passed week. Not surprised your friend Trish didn’t think she could cut it. This…”

 

Elektra walked behind Karen, her heels clacking loudly over the sound of the girls trying with Frank. Elektra stopped just behind Karen’s other shoulder and continued.

 

“This is your little boyfriend now, isn’t it?” Elektra asked. “That’s at least what Matthew told me when he talked about your little encounter the other day.”

 

Karen could hear Elektra’s smile widen disgustingly in her voice. “Let this serve as a reminder then – when you come for what’s mine, I come for what’s yours. And if you put your hands on Matthew again, it’ll be my hands all over your boyfriend next time. Although…” Elektra added as she leaned in close to Karen’s ear, her voice lowering to a whisper, “I may aim a bit lower than the face.”

 

Karen’s head shot away from Elektra, as she was just a fly buzzing too close to Karen’s ear. Karen turned to face her head on, and she could feel a twinge of bravery forming in the pit of her stomach as she looked at Elektra’s smug face.

 

“Why?” Karen asked simply. “Why do you do this? You _won_. You have Matt. Wasn’t that the point? What else do you _want?”_

“Winning is only half the fun,” Elektra said coyly. “The other half is making sure no one stands a chance to beat you.”

 

“MA’AM,” Karen heard Frank suddenly yell from the pick up window, and her heart leapt. “HEY, MA’AM!”

 

Karen turned around to see that yes, in fact, Frank was yelling out to her, beckoning her over with his hand. He’d finished serving the girls, only a few of whom actually ordered anything from him. They’d all given her petty glares and she quickly approached the window.

 

“Just realized I gave you the wrong drink there, ma’am,” he admitted. “Let me get another one started for you.”

 

Karen seemed a bit confused, as she’d definitely seen Frank make tons of macchiatos before, and this one looked no different than the other. Still, she waited at the window for Frank to whip something else up.  
  
Karen looked over to see that the crowd of girls had now joined Elektra, and they were all waiting patiently to see what would occur between Frank and Karen now.

 

Frank hurried back with a new cup, his usual, friendly smile beaming towards her.

“Sorry about that, ma’am, guess I may be the one who needs a coffee today.”

 

Frank held the coffee out towards her, looking as if nothing had happened, like he hadn’t completely rebuffed her five minutes ago. She reached out for the coffee, and as she grabbed it, she felt Frank’s grip on the cup tighten. His arm tensed firmly as he subtly pulled the cup closer to him, letting Karen know she should lean in closer, and she did.

 

“Was that for you?” he whispered to her as the girls all cackled to each other. “That dog and pony show, did they do that to spite you?”

 

Karen looked Frank right in the eye, and she could see again just a twinge of the old hurt, this time mixed with concern.

“Yeah,” she admitted, “yeah they did.”

“Okay,” he said, “come here.”

 

Before she’d known it, Frank pulled Karen in even closer and his lips pressed firmly and warmly onto her cheek. Karen’s heart skipped eight to ten beats, and she could her gasps and complaints coming from the peanut gallery behind her. Frank lingered there for a few moments before slowly pulling away. His eyes met hers again, and Karen could see somehow that even through the hurt, he’d meant that.

“You take care, ma’am, okay?” he cooed to her as her heart did flips and her skin felt like it was melting off.

  
“Okay,” Karen mustered. She looked over at Elektra’s crew and realized that the only thing that could’ve made Karen happier in that moment than Frank, was the look of sheer rage spread across Elektra’s face.

 

Karen couldn’t contain her smiling and continued to do so as she walked out of the café, but if this was winning, than winning was only half the fun. Out of instinct, as she walked out the doors, Karen looked back down at the coffee cup Frank had just given her, and there again, in black Sharpie, was another note.

 

_Still nothing compared to you._


End file.
